Cruise passengers to be compensated for illness outbreak

Jan. 28, 2014
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The Royal Caribbean International's Explorer of the Seas is docked at Charlotte Amalie Harbor in St. Thomas, U. S. Virgin Islands, Jan. 26, 2014. U.S. health officials have boarded the cruise liner to investigate an illness outbreak that has stricken hundreds of people. / Thomas Layer, AP

by Fran Golden, Special for USA TODAY

by Fran Golden, Special for USA TODAY

As the Explorer of the Seas makes its way back to New Jersey from a 10-day Caribbean cruise, cut short when hundreds of passengers reported suffering from a gastrointestinal illness, Royal Caribbean said passengers would be compensated for their lost vacations.

In a statement, Royal Caribbean said all passengers on the ship would receive a 50% refund and a 50% credit for a future cruise. In an unusual move, the line said those passengers confined to their cabins due to illness would also receive additional compensation for each day of confinement.

The Explorer of the Seas will return to Bayonne, N.J., on Wednesday, two days earlier than planned. The line said it would reimburse passengers for airline change fees and other costs associated with traveling home early.

The line said Monday that the number of new cases of the illness onboard the ship had dropped sharply, with most passengers who fell ill now "up and about."

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, 595 of the 3,050 passengers and 50 of the 1,165 crew reported feeling ill on the cruise. The CDC has not yet determined the cause of the illness.

"The drop in new cases is encouraging. However, it is not unusual in an outbreak to still have smaller, secondary spikes," the line said in its statement.

The CDC said it was working closely with Royal Caribbean on procedures for disembarkation in New Jersey as well as plans for "active cases, terminal and transport infection control procedures."

Royal Caribbean officials said once the ship returns to the Cape Liberty terminal, the line would conduct a "barrier" sanitation program on the entire ship, "to make certain that any remaining traces of the illness are eliminated."

The line added, "It will be the third aggressive sanitizing procedure the ship has undertaken since we became aware of the issue, and will additionally provide a window of more than 24 hours where there are no persons aboard the ship, which is a significant help."

The Explorer of the Seas will embark on its next sailing as planned on Friday, Jan. 31, Royal Caribbean said.